I've written a PM to tizoc re this and some other stuff such as some of the complexities involved in coding the BIABacus. In that PM, I've explained how to unlock the BIABacus and examine the formulas. The error is not one that is practically significant but, personally, I found it very interesting. In my PM I attempted to share some of...

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If you have never brewed a beer before but are excited to become a part of such a guild , then you should start posting in the Kit and Fresh Wort Kit Brewing section of the site. We will get you under way there.

BIABrewer.info recommends...

1. That you join a brewing forum in your region so as you can get advice from brewers, next door, and stay informed of...

All newly registered members are encouraged to post here provided they have fully read all articles in BIABrewer.info Essentials .

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Greetings, maze42.
Welcome to the forum. Reading the information on this site can be a lot of work but start with Clear Brewing Terminology and ask questions if you have some. I have found that reading recipes helps me decide what to brew next. Then employ the latest version of the BIABacus to adapt to your equipment. I recommend 90 minute mash and 90 minute boil times.
Happy Brewing. :drink:

Guests* and members, please feel free to use this thread for general chatting, asking and answering quick questions or when you feel as though you might be just writing utter nonsense :D

[ADMIN NOTE: Edited on 20th March 2015 to expand the range of this topic.

* Guests and Visitors , it may take a few days from the time of writing the admin note above to get this thread working for you as well.

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Pat, you are correct. My response on efficiency didn't have appropriate detail. And unfortunately not drunk, rather absolutely exhausted from a long day (and week), looked at the website briefly before going to sleep for a diversion, and thought I could give some input to Glowing Apple.

EIB - Efficiency Into Boil (my assumption is this is what he was looking for). My BIAB batches 6-12 had the following EIB #s: 94, 88, 77, 82, 88, and 91. Pulled the #s off email to LHBS expert who claimed BIAB...

BIABrewer.info and BIAB for New Members

Before helping others to convert a recipe they post here, please make sure you have fully read and understood this post and the others it refers to.

Every beer recipe needs to be adjusted to suit both your own brewing method as well as your equipment. For example, it will be obvious to all but the newest brewers that an extract recipe needs to be converted to a grain recipe. What is not so obvious to those entering the world of all-grain is that recipes need to be adjusted for your equipment...

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Well lager fermentation can be up to 21 days. Seems like mine is done normally 14 days or so. Could be a couple days longer sometimes... Just make certain fermentation is 100% complete before beginning cold crash. A few days extra never hurts anything...but if fermentation is not complete it causes major problems. Check final gravity with hydrometer. 2-3 days of dacetal rest will help finish fermentation if almost done.

I normally cold crash for 2 days but no problem if you need to go longer....

When a new brewer wants to brew beer, they must begin with a recipe. That should be really easy right?

What about if you chose to brew the same recipe that, earned Jonathan Perman the illustrious title of Homebrewer of the Year in the 2012 AHA National Homebrew CompetitionNational Homebrew Competition. Source: American Homebrewers Association / Homebrew Recipes / Sitzung Helles.

How excited are we to get that recipe? :party: :drink: :party: :drink:. Why wouldn't you be excited?

1....

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What a great thread.
Not afraid to tell the truth

I agree that to much art is taking place in the home brew community, but then I cannot tell someone how to brew their beer.
But I have tried recipes before and was totally frustrated by the lack of information or the ponderousness of bad information in them.

I see sentences like this, pour in 2 gallons of RO water to soften your water . OK soften it to what level? and pour it into how much water?

Clear Brewing Terminology (CBT) - The Essentials
The homebrew world is currently suffering from very poor terminology. This makes things difficult for everyone. BIABrewer has spent several years developing a terminology that is natural and fast to learn. Take the time to read through the below and then use these terms as much as possible when you post either here or on other forums. If a term in this thread has an abbreviation, it is perfectly acceptable to use that abbreviation on...

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Phrase Express and Clear Brewing Terminology
Phrase Express is what is known as a text expander program. Phrase Express works for Windows and Android but similar programs exist for Apple etc.

Phrase Express has many handy features. Take the time to read them in the link above. Once you have done so, download and install Phrase Express.

Import the CBT file below into Phrase Express

Once you have installed Phrase Express, import the following file Clear Brewing Terminology courtesy of...

First try at using BIABacus - can I get another set of eyes to see if I did this right? I'm trying to decide on what to use on brew day: Brew Target, Beer Smith, Brewers Friend or something else. I also have the Bru 'N Water spreadsheet, since I use RO water and have to add minerals. I'd like something that is accurate, repeatable and gives consistent results (based on if I don't mess up what it tells me to do) - ie. water volumes, brew...

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I found the adjustment...duh.
I gotta open my eyes and read the entire spreadsheet.

Hello. I have entered information int a BIABacus spreadsheet for another brew, a Stout this time. If anyone would like to look it over and give me feedback I would appreciate it. I still am confused why using a hopsock would reduce the grain bill, but will follow the numbers on the spreadsheet at any rate. Also, there is my primary mashing malt and then my steeping grains. This is my first time using steeping grains. I have only mashed malt before. Do I include all together, the only difference...

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Thank you for the response, Shore Points. I will check gravity in the morning. Long day at work just ended. if it is where I want it I may bottle tomorrow. I took a reading a few days ago, and it was around 1.017, which is right on. I tasted the runoff from the thief. Dryer than expected. Maybe because of so much yeast/attenuation?

This beer moved so quickly, but there were THREE yeast packs.

I checked both thermometers today in boiling water, and the nice glass one was 6 to 8 degrees higher...

Hello. This is my second post, so please bear with me. I've done 5 BIAB batches, but not for a couple of years so I'm relearning. Plus I am trying to delve into everything more deeply to get a fuller understanding rather than just following steps.

I have a formula from Brewing Classic Styles that I made a couple of years ago and want to repeat. My notes from that batch are not good... My main questions are:

1) Is there an increase in grain bill when moving from sparge formulas to BIAB...

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Congratulations Another Brian! :thumbs: It worked despite surprises in the process.

No file attached, so far.

Following the BIABacus recommendations mostly, yielded an ESB that seems close to the model. Perhaps a little more bitter/dry but very clean tasting. No esters noticed.
Trust the BIABacus. It is amazing how well it works for me. I hope you have added your tasting notes to the batch record. It will help in the future. I try to add tasting impressions along the timeline for...

Hi guys,
I am preparing for my first attempt at Biab. Currently assembling my kit. The kettle is a 30l 2.5kw electric tea urn. I have modded it so that it will maintain a rolling boil without cutting out. I made a truncated cone bag to fit it. I want to attempt a maxi Biab to attain 23 litres into the fermenter so will heat my sparge water on the stove top. I will be making a DIY counter flow chiller once the plumbing bits arrive.
I want to scale the Amarillo AIPA recipe from this site for my...

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Thanks for that feedback ShorePoints. You are right, I am over complicating things in order to increase yield from one brew day. After this batch I think I will take your advice and keep it simple.

So I'm a newer brewer with some extract brews and two biab brews under my belt and I want to brew a Pilsner. This time of year the garage is perfect for cold fermentation at a pretty stable 50 degrees. I'm pretty confident on brewing and fermenting the beer, but I have questions on the lagering phase. I don't have a fridge big enough to house a secondary for lagering, so I was planning on priming and bottling before lagering. My question is how long should I wait before moving the beer to the...

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Wes, what is your target volume? With only 5-gallon brew kettle, VIP (Volume Into Packaging) would be difficult for a Pilsner to be over...say 3-gallons or so. But the devil is in the details... (planned gravity, etc.)

That’s where filling out the BIABacus with your system’s info and exact recipe would be such a big help. It gives you the info you are asking, and it’s pretty darn accurate. Why don’t you give it a shot? Then post a new post in the beginners section and upload your file...asking...

Imagine you just heard that your sister/brother had just bought a good or service that you had already bought and that good/service had failed you. In hindsight, you'll be thinking, I wish I had told them of my experience, and your sibling will be saying, I wish I'd asked their advice.

Once the transaction is made though, it's all a bit too late, isn't it?

So, before you buy anything, use this thread to check with other family members - ask them, Am I making a good decision?

Cheers,
Pat

*...

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With the BIABacus at hand, there is a wide range of kettle sizes that will work for just about anyone. There is no right or wrong answer, just personal preferences.

Indoor stove-top brewers might have trouble lifting the bag above a 40+ cm tall kettle within the space available above it (hood and/or ceiling). A wider kettle with less height would have an enhanced evaporation rate. That would add to the indoor humidity more so than having a smaller kettle. Outdoor brewers will have to have help...

I am putting on my first BIAB this coming weekend and have never used Oats before.
Now I am not a complete stranger to grains as I have done several partial brews but this time around I am going all grain for my Oatmeal pale ale (recipe improvised from several places on the interweb and books I own).

I am not sure whether I am going to toast my oats or not

I digress my actual question is will toasting my rolled oats to a golden hue impact IBU much and is there any major things...

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Welcome to the board Jason :salute:

Usually your first post needs to be made in this thread before it is approved and appears on the board.

Behind the scenes here we are writing a whole lot of stuff to make things easy for all types and levels of brewers. Today, we were writing some advice for new brewers. Above you wrote, I'm a newbie here and trying to learn everything before my first brew. What we wrote this morning isn't published yet but I'll quote some of it here...
The reality is...

Right, as mentioned in my intro, not getting overly good efficiency. I've only really done 1 BIAB so far (the other AG I did was a bagless mini stove top, with even worst efficiency... lol). I came away from this knowing 2 things for certain:-

1) My boiler/mashing system is inadequate:-

30 litre SS stock pot, wrapped in about 4 layers of reflective loft insulation. Now the pot itself isn't a big problem, I should be able to get 18 litres into FV from this ok. The real problem is how I am...

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PP, regarding needing multiple equipment profiles, not if you know how to use Beersmith 2 (and now 3) properly. In the desktop version you can adjust the BH Efficiency on the design few tab, you would however need to understand that you'd have to be doing this in the first place. Luckily for me it's not an issue as I don't brew big beers, I consider my equipment too small, and my experience level too low. The Beersmith Software relies quite heavily on the brewer been able to dial it in for a...

I have a Rye Brown Ale recipe that I would like to make for my first BIAB. I have some questions on the BIABacus excel file. I wasn't sure on the EBC (section C), volume of ambient wort or the AA% of my hops (section D), and If Grain is...(Section E) fields. How is EBC calculated? How do you determine the AA% (I took an avg figure found on the internet)?

I'm assuming these might be connected to getting my IBUs because at the moment my IBUs is listed as 300+, should be 27.5....

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Hi Nick,
Sections J thru R can be used after you brew. You can print a recipe report and create a check list (extreme right side of biabacus).
I find these two items keep my brew day organized. Keeping notes to complete Sections J thru R will help evaluate your brew process.
Refer to the Clear Brewing Terminology section of this site.
There are threads on this site that discuss the integrity of a recipe.
Three good sources for recipes that have integrity are The recipe section of this website...

I'm about to brew another Amarillo Pale Ale. This will be my third attempt. I'm trying to record better and need some clarification on what I should actually record. I'm using an electric BIAB system. I am also using the mashout method as described in the commentary.

1. Mash Volume. At mashing temperature the volume of the water and grain. I think this is straight fwd.
2. Volume into boil. Since I am doing the mashout method there will be no subsequent boil. So I think this is simply the...

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It's looking better... You're on the right track. :clap:

Yes, you are supposed to remove the lid during the boil. That's supposed to reduce potential for DMS, an off flavor in beer (believe that tastes somewhat like cooked corn). And this will cause much more evaporation - as the BIABacus plans for. It will lower your VAW (volume) and increase your gravity to what you were shooting for. So this is one glaring error, but you've came a long ways and should be able to nail it next time. :thumbs:

My last brew Amarillo Pale Ale (2nd BiAB attempt). Had a specific gravity reading of 1.04 (low). Although I didn't record the volume in the end of boil I think my predicted evaporation rate was much less then predicted (that is....I ended up with more volume). For my next brew I'm going to record everything much better and I have already recalibrated my brewing pot WRT to volumes. In retrospect I wish I had recorded better :(

If I'm right about evaporation rate and it wasn't something else....

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Ninkas1 , as streamer mentioned, don't hesitate to supply as much detail as you can including your BIABacus file. (Just had a glance at your prior posts and I think you did use the BIABacus).

If you post more detail, we can soon see if you are worrying about nothing or faster identify any major problem.

For example, you might be worried that your original gravity was 1.040 instead of say 1.045. The beer will be fine. However, if it was meant to be 1.060, then we need to make a solid plan...

Getting ready for my second BIAB all grain beer. Its been over a year since my last very successful attempt using the Amarillo recipe recommended here for noobs. My friend grew cascade hops ithis summer and then desiccated them... I have a few bags full.

The question is how would I prepare them and could I use them to add as aroma hops in the amarillo recipe?

Thanks...If more information needed let me know.

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Just an update. I ended up substituting based on equivalents weights...because I didn't bother to learn the AA conversion. Anyway it worked out fine...albeit a bit more mellow then I would have hoped.

Hi, I know there is a recipe section, but I am looking for yummy recipes for women (aka SWMBO). Something sweet and yummy, something like I dont know desert? I know this might not be in the right section, but other then the question above, how many of you other guys have been sent on the same quest? hahahah :lol: I am biab all the way with decent skills and gear.

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Not I no, I was replying to the thread with a suggestion. I'm lucky, I know exactly what beer my wife likes, that been most of them! :thumbs: I will however be tackling an attempt to clone Holdens Golden Glow for her soon, as this is one of her favourites. Handy as we live in the same region as the brewery, so shouldn't need to play with the water much....

I have managed to knock out my first BIAB after building a 50 litre E-Keggle with 2x 2200w elements from Kmart kettles. I made the All Amarillo APA which I'm about to keg and initial tastes are very promising.

I am keen to brew some more and I am thinking a Dr Smurto's Golden Ale would be great as I have made the kit version with great results. I am wondering how I use the BIABacus for this system and recipe. I am ordering my grain from and Australian local supplier who has the...

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Hello AusieBrew,

Have you taken a stab at filling out the BIABacus file yet? Why don’t you give it a shot, and then paste it on your thread. One of us will be along to give you advice.

One thing I’m looking for and not seeing in your file is the batch size...

Using the BIABacus file on the first page -down the left side of the screen- for both Malt and hops you put recipe on the left side and then it displays what you will use on the right side of the page... Take a look and see what I...

I just posted in the I`m thinking of buying a thread about kettle size. The pot I`m going to buy is 50l and wont fit in my sink for cooling
and one of the replies got me thinking.

I've been reading that some brewers just put a sanitized towel on their kettle and a lid and let it sit overnight to cool to pitching temperature

What about just using my fermenter as a no chill cube? it`s fairly well sealed, just chuck the hot wort in let it cool over night and pitch.
sure the head space will...

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Clackers - also see the Chilling section of the Forum. It includes the thread mentioned by Streamer and has even more info.
There are some who avoid putting hot liquids in plastic of any kind and there are those who do it all the time. It's your choice.

I have clipped a sanitized cloth across the top of the kettle after Flame Out. Then i let it cool to a point where I could safely move it to where it could sit overnight and cool down to pitching temperature. I did not use the lid on top of the...

Over the past week I've been messing around with the BIAB Calculator (great tool btw) and now want to put in to the test for my first BIAB batch. Based on the suggestions on this forum, i've decided to use the NRB's All Amarillo APA as my test batch, and want to use the calculator to help get me the best final product as I can possibly get.

I just want to make sure im using the calculator properly!

The Volumes Tab

So right off the bat, id like to...

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Hello Alex,

Good job filling out the BIABacus tool!!! At first glance it can seem intimidating, but if you take it step by step it is really very logical and very easy. Just remember - One Step At A Time!

I opened up your file and had a look. Provided all of your inputs are correct, the file should be good to go. Where I remember the first couple times that I used the BIABacus, and really just used the first page... It was a bit confusing to use for me at first. After using it some more it...

Hello everyone been gathering all my kit and I think I am now ready for a test run.l am looking for good proven recipe that I can use needs to be 23 litres into the fermenter looking for an ipa or pale ale that's hop forward any suggestions

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Hello did my first all grain today and got 81.2% efficiency on it very happy.
I used beersmith in the end because it was easy to work out did an ipa clone of punk ipa which I like a lot hope it turns out ok thanks for the help

I’ve been using BIABacus for a while, but I’ve hit a stumbling block. This is the first recipe I’ve brewed using lactose (or any other sugars) which will get added to the boil at 15 mins.

Looking back on the forum I’ve found a very informative post from PP that said to adjust section ‘Y’ to 75% and 0% which I have done. I was hoping someone could take a quick look at my recipe to make sure it all looks okay?

I’ve also added Cocoa nibs in section ‘F’ – which will be getting added...

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Please note, i am no way a advanced or Pro brewer of any kind. But i would have thought for a stout, you would mash at a higher temp.
Personally i mashed my sweet stout at 69Deg...
:luck:

I normally mash my beers a little higher than 66°c – But with the additions of flaked oats and lactose which all add body. I wanted to air on the side of caution, so mashing a little lower than I normally would.

I`ve been very quiet over the summer, no time with a couple of 7 year olds on holiday.
Anyway my small fridge has been busy with a lager for most of the summer, what a mistake. I ran out of
beer. I`ll keep lager for winter from now on so I can turn out ale regularly.

Anyway just a quick question. I have 10l of expat lager (BCS) needing to be packaged. Anyway while searching the net for how long to lager
for I found somewhere that suggest to add extra yeast with the priming sugar to...

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Hi guys,

I`ve been very quiet over the summer, no time with a couple of 7 year olds on holiday.
Anyway my small fridge has been busy with a lager for most of the summer, what a mistake. I ran out of
beer. I`ll keep lager for winter from now on so I can turn out ale regularly.

Anyway just a quick question. I have 10l of expat lager (BCS) needing to be packaged. Anyway while searching the net for how long to lager
for I found somewhere that suggest to add extra yeast with the priming sugar to...

Hi, I just bought Beersmith and was wondering if anyone had a profile already set up that they could share. I think I have it set up correctly, but would like to confirm with someone who already has it and has used it. Thanks!

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Yeah I tried Libre and a bunch of the lines look strange. I have a copy of Windows and Office somewhere. I'll find them and install in Bootcamp. I'm going to try using the sheet for the next brew. Thanks!

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